''Dancing with Daggers'' is the debut studio album by the Canadian indie rock band

Magneta Lane Magneta Lane was a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2003 in Toronto. Magneta Lane disbanded in 2014.

Paper Bag Records Paper Bag Records is a Canadian independent record label, artist-management company, and music publisher founded in 2002 and based in Toronto. History The label was created to focus on the Toronto-area indie rock music scene. Initial signings w ...

. This album was released in a special bonus track edition on October 24, 2005 on

Pony Canyon Records A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

in Japan only.

Songs

The album opens with the track "Bridge to Terabithia", named after

Katherine Paterson Katherine Womelsdorf Paterson (born October 31, 1932) is an American writer best known for children's novels, including '' Bridge to Terabithia''. For four different books published 1975-1980, she won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Aw ...

's novel of the same name. The lyrics bear no significance to the novel nor does the theme of the music. "Broken Plates" is the first single released from the album, the second being "Wild Gardens".

Reception

Reviews for the album were generally positive.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

had nothing but the highest of praise for the album, saying "Each song is snappy, playful, and stylish, and that's what makes ''Dancing with Daggers'' work so well." They asserted that the songs have a rare originality, and said that Magenta Lane "lead the pack of new millennium girl groups" and "could very well be a modern day version of

the Shangri-Las The Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit songs of theirs documented teen tragedies and melodramas. They continue to be known for their hits "Remember (Walking in the Sand)", "Give Him a Gre ...

." ''Pitchfork'' and

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

both said that the album lacks a genuine show-stopper to compare to "The Constant Lover" from their debut EP, but that there are nonetheless plenty of standout moments. The reviewer for PopMatters also praised the album's exceptional brevity (less than a half-hour long). Stylus Magazine were less enthusiastic, asserting that the album is essentially one or two outstanding pieces surrounded by similar-sounding filler: "''Dancing With Daggers'' could be re-released as "Wild Gardens," its best song, repeated thirteen times and I’d hardly bat an eye."

Track listing

#"Bridge to Terabithia" - 3:25 #"Broken Plates" - 2:51 #"Wild Gardens" - 3:16 #"22" - 2:31 #"Secrets Aren't So Bad" - 2:30 #"Carnival in Spain" - 3:01 #"Artistic Condition" - 2:10 #"Daggers Out!" - 3:51 #"The Better Plan" - 3:05 #"Butterflies are Blue" - 3:10 #" The Constant Lover" - 3:13 (Japanese Bonus Track) #"Follow Me" - 2:11 (Japanese Bonus Track)

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums Magneta Lane albums Paper Bag Records albums